US flies aircraft over Nigeria, mulls sending drones in search for abducted girls

People carry a banner as they attend a protest demanding the release of abducted secondary school girls in the remote village of Chibok, in Lagos May 9, 2014 (Reuters / Akintunde Akinleye) / Reuters

The United States is flying manned surveillance and reconnaissance flights over Nigeria as it aids the country in seeking more than 200 school girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram Islamic militant group in April.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay
Carney said roughly 27 officials – including some from the State
Department, the Pentagon, and FBI – are already in Nigeria, ready
to assist the government’s search.

“The scope of that assistance has been outlined, and it
includes military and law enforcement assistance, advisory
assistance, as well as intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance support,” Carney said.

Additionally, the Washington Post reported that an unnamed senior
Pentagon official said the White House is also considering
whether or not to deploy drones in the search. If the US chooses
to do so, it would reroute some of the drones currently being
used to hunt Lord’s Resistance Army warlord Joseph Kony.

Meanwhile, a senior administration official told the Post the US
has already “shared commercial satellite imagery with the
Nigerians.”

News of the development comes shortly after Boko Haram released a
video in which it claimed that more than 100 of the girls had
converted to Islam. According to Agence France Press, the girls
are dressed in Muslim garb and praying to Allah in an undisclosed
location. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau reportedly states
that he will hold the girls until Nigeria agrees to release the
militants it has held in prison.

This offer has reportedly been rejected by the Nigerian
government, though the country’s military and National
Orientation Agency later stated they “will continue to
explore all options for the release and safe return of our girls
to the their homes.”

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that, ultimately,
the decision will be up to Nigeria.

“As you know, Nigeria is in the lead. We are simply
supporting their efforts. As you know also the United States'
policy is to deny kidnappers the benefits of their criminal acts
including ransoms or concessions,” Psaki said.

As RT reported previously, about 53 of the girls
managed to escape from their captors and return safely, but more
than 200 remain missing. Explaining its decision to kidnap the
students, Boko Haram has stated the girls should be married and
not in school.

At least three parents were able to spot their daughters in the
newly released video, and efforts are underway to identify more.

Despite the arrival of US aid to Nigeria, Carney cautioned that
the search won’t be easy. It’s possible Boko Haram will split the
girls up into smaller groups to make the search more difficult,
or move them into neighboring countries such as Chad or Cameroon.

“When we talk about assisting in the effort to locate the
girls, we are talking about helping the Nigerian government
search an area that is roughly the size of New England,”
Carney said. “So, this is no small task. But we are certainly
bringing resources to bear in our effort to assist the
government.”